I love experimenting with recipes and trying new foods, but sometimes it’s the basics that make the best meals! For example, consider this Savory Chicken and Rice. It calls for simple ingredients and is easy to prepare. Moreover, my kids love it despite the fact that it contains a hidden veggie!
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon granulated onion
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- Several dashes salt and pepper
- 3 cups instant brown rice
- 1 cup frozen riced cauliflower
- 2 cups chopped cooked chicken
- 1 ½ cups homemade cream of mushroom soup or 1 can (10.5 oz.) condensed cream soup of your choice plus ½ cup water
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Place the chicken broth, butter, granulated garlic, granulated onion, Italian seasoning, paprika, salt, and pepper in a Dutch oven or large pot; bring to a boil. Add the brown rice and riced cauliflower. Return to a boil, then cover and cook over low heat for 5 minutes.
Stir in the chicken and cream soup. Continue cooking over low for about 5 minutes or until the chicken is thoroughly heated. Stir in the milk and Parmesan cheese. Remove from the heat and serve. Yield: 5 servings.
Notes
This dish has a straightforward savory flavor that I think qualifies it as comfort food. As I noted above, my daughters love it. They typically ask for seconds when we have it for dinner. My husband, who is picky about vegetables, doesn’t know I put cauliflower in this. He’s never indicated that anything is unusual about the flavor or texture of the dish, so I think the cauliflower is well and truly hidden.
This dish doesn’t take very long to prepare and cleanup is easy because it is prepared in one pot. I like to cook a bunch of chicken in the slow cooker at the beginning of the month and freeze it in small portions. This allows me to have cooked chicken available for dishes like this. If you don’t have cooked chicken on hand, you can always toss in some convenient canned chicken.
Feel free to use different flavors of cream soup and different seasonings to customize the dish to meet your family’s flavor preferences. You might also be able to integrate other veggies into the dish!
What comfort dishes have you been eating this winter?
Shared at the following:
Encouraging Hearts and Home, Sunday Dinner Bell, What’s for Dinner? and Weekend Potluck.
Hello Shannon, this is one comfort food that I would love to try. Happy New Year! It’s nice to be here.
Thanks for stopping by, Mareliz. It is quite tasty, so I hope you get to try it!
This looks absolutely amazing! Pure Comfort food!
Thanks, Amy. It is good. Hopefully you can try it sometime!
I printed out the recipe, I’ll make it this weekend. It really looks yummy 😋.
I hope you enjoy it, Ann!
Is this a main dish? If so, what do you pair it with, or do you just eat it out of a bowl with a spoon?
Because it has chicken in it, we eat it as a main dish. We pair it with a veggie (green beans, broccoli, carrots, etc.). However, you could use it as a side dish (you could keep or omit the chicken if doing this).
Hi, this really looks and sounds delicious. I’m confused about the cup of rice cauliflower though. 🤔
Hi Debbie,
In the frozen vegetable section of the grocery store, you can find frozen “riced cauliflower.” It is just cauliflower, but it has been grated or chopped into rice-sized pieces (you can also take fresh cauliflower and make your own using a box grater or food processor). Once cooked, it looks like rice and has a similar texture.
You can skip adding the riced cauliflower, but I like to add it because cruciferous veggies (like cauliflower) have so many nutrients. My husband will not eat it by itself, but he doesn’t mind it in a dish like this!
Ahh, I see! Very good idea to add something good for you if you have a picky family member! This does sound really good, I’m sure I’ll be making it soon….thanks Shannon!
Cream of jalapeno soup is really good in this…adds a bit of a kick!
Oh, that sounds good, Suzanne! Thanks for sharing the idea!
i wonder if adding fresh mushrooms t this would be good, too!
I think it would be great, Jenn. I don’t add them because my kids aren’t fans of mushrooms, but it would be perfect!